Sockets

ABSTRACT

A socket having a circular bed, which consists of two separable sections put together into a unitary body with a separator interposed therebetween, each of said sections having electrical connecting parts fitted therein before it is put together with the other section.

United States Patent [1 1 Fujita et al.

[ Sept. 3, 1974 SOCKETS [75] Inventors: Teizo Fujita; Masao Kikuchi,both of Osaka, Japan [73] Assignee: Izumi Denki Company Limited, Osaka,Japan 22 Filed: Dec. 29, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 319,263

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. 10, 1972 Japan 47-25119 [52]US. Cl..... 339/186 M, 339/193 R, 339/198 G, 339/208 [51] Int. Cl. 1101:13/64, HOlr 33/76 [58] Field of Search 339/191-193, 339/198, 206-210,184, 186

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Adams 339/193 R 3,702,45711/1972 Fujita ..339/198G FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,210,47010/1970 Great Britain 339/192 R Primary Examiner'Bobby R. Gay

Assistant Examiner-Lawrence J. Staab Attorney, Agent, or FirmPollock,Philpitt & Vande Sande [5 7] ABSTRACT A socket having a circular bed,which consists of two separable sections put together into a unitarybody with a separator interposed therebetween, each of said sectionshaving electrical connecting parts fitted therein before it is puttogether with the other section.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures SOCKETS This invention relates to sockets.

A socket used for mounting small electrical equipment, such as a relayor timer, thereon is generally varied in shape depending upon whetherthe connecting terminals of the equipment to be mounted are arranged inan annular shape or parallel rows. Namely, in case of the formerarrangement of the connecting terminals it is usual that the base of thesocket is formed in a substantially circular shape and terminalinsertion holes for receiving the connecting terminals of the associatedequipment are arranged in an annular shape around a guide sternreceiving hole, while in case of the latter arrangement, the base of thesocket is formed in a substantially rectangular shape and terminalinsertion holes are arranged in said substantially rectangular baserectilinearly and in a plurality of parallel rows. The present inventionproposes novel sockets of particularly the former type which has asubstantially circular base and terminal insertion holes formed in saidbase and arranged in an annular shape.

Coventional sockets of this type have had a substantially circularinsulating base at the center thereof and stepped terminal mounts onboth sides of said base, said base being formed therein at apredetermined interval with a plurality of terminal insertion holeswhich are arranged annularly around a guide stem receiving hole andrespectively being open in the upper surface of said base. In each ofthe terminal insertion holes is disposed a metallic connecting part forelectrical connection with each terminal of an equipment to be mounted,and said metallic connecting part is in turn connected, as by a bolt orwelding, to metallic parts provided on the terminal mount. These priorart sockets have had the disadvantage that, since the main body of thesocket consisting of the base and terminal mounts is moulded of aninsulating moulding material into a unitary piece, skill is required inthe operations of inserting the metallic connecting parts in eachterminal insertion hole and connecting said connecting parts to themetallic parts on the terminal mount and furthermore, these metallicparts tend to become loosened or fall off the socket after they havebeen mounted, all of which adds to the working time and manhours andrenders the production of the socket inefficient.

It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to provide asocket having a circular base, which consists of two separable sectionsput together into a unitary piece with a separator interposedtherebetween, each of said sections having electrical connecting partsfitted therein before it is put together with the other section.

According to the present invention, there is provided a socketcomprising two separable sections and a sepa rator, each of saidsections being open at one side and having a substantially semicircularbase formed at the center thereof and stepped terminal mounts formed onboth sides of said base, said base being formed therein with terminalinsertion holes for receiving the respective terminals of an equipmentto be mounted, said terminal insertion holes being open at their topends in the upper surface of said base and being arranged in asubstantially semiannular shape, said base, terminal insertion holes andterminal mounts being open at the same side as the opening of saidsection, said sections being put together into a unitary piece withtheir open sides facing each other and with said separator interposedtherebetween, said separator being so shaped as to close the open sidesof said base and terminal mounts.

With the construction of the subject socket described above, since thesocket is composed of the separable two sections and separator, and theelectrical connecting parts can be mounted at the desired positions ineach of the socket sections before said socket sections and separatorare put together, the assembly of the socket can be achieved with highefficiency, without requiring a skill in the connecting parts mountingoperation as has been required heretofore. In the past, this type ofsocket gaving a circular base at the center thereof has restricted theequipment to be mounted to those which have terminals arranged in anannular shape and accordingly, the terminal receiving holes of thesocket must have been arranged also in an annular shape. This hascreated the fixed idea that the socket cannot be divided into sections,which has heretofore swayed strongly the opinion of those engaging inthe production of this type of socket. The present inventors haveachieved the invention based on an idea which completely overturns suchfixed ideas. Because of the difficulty in the connecting parts mountingoperation, it has been impossible to produce this type of socket on amass production basis, but according to the invention it becomespossible to employ a mass production system in a rational manner in themanufacture of the socket and a great advantage can be achieved in theassembly work.

The invention will be better understood, and other features will becomeapparent, from the following more detailed description and accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a relay and a relay socket;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the relay socket;

FIG. 3 is a plan view, partially broken away, of the relay socket;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the socket section; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the metallic connecting parts.

In the drawings, reference numerals 1 and 2 designate socket sectionsmoulded of an electrical insulating material. These socket sectionsrespectively have substantially semicircular bases 11, 21 at the centerthereof and stepped terminal mounts 12a, 12b and 22a, 22b on both sidesof said bases. The bases 11 and 12 respectively have formed thereinconcentric semicircular cutouts llb and 21b. Reference numerals 11b and21b respectively designate relay terminal insertion holes which are openat their top ends in the upper surface of the bases to form insertionopenings 11c and 210 for the pin terminals 4a of a relay 4. The relay 4shown in FIG. 1 has 8 pin terminals 4a arranged in an annular shapearound a guide stem 4b. The aforesaid terminal insertion holes 1 lb and21b, and therefore, the

- insertion openings 11c and 210, of the bases 11 and 21 are arranged inan annular shape at a predetermined interval, each in register with eachof said pin terminals. The terminal insertion holes 11 b and 21b, andthe terminal mounts 12a, 12b and 22a, 22b are open at one side of therespective socket sections, while the other sides of the tenninal mountsare closed by separators l3 and 23 respectively, each of which has anupper edge profile complementary to the upper edge profile of saidterminal mounts. Reference numeral 3 designates a separator which hasformed at substantially the center thereof a post 31 having a hole 31aformed at the center for receiving the guide stem 4b of the relay 4. Avertical guide groove 31b is formed in the wall of the hole 310. Theheight of the post 31 is made slightly smaller than the height of thesocket sections 1 and 2. Therefore, after the socket sections 1, 2 andthe separator 3 are put together, the post 31 will be enclosed in aspace formed by cavities 11d and 21d formed in the open sides of thebases 11 and 21, with the central hole 31a only being exposed to theoutside through the cutouts 11a and 21a. Windows 32, 32 are formed onboth sides of the post 31 and further two parallel separator walls 33,33 are formed outwardly of said respective windows for closing the opensides of the terminal mounts 12a, 12b and 22a, 22b of the socketsections 1, 2. Between the outer end portions of the parallel separatorwalls 33, 33 are interposed bridging blocks 33a respectively forsecuring fittings (not shown) by which the relay 4 is secured after ithas been mounted on the socket. The windows 32, 32 are formed at suchlocations and in such a size that vertical surfaces lle and 21e on theopen sides of the bases 11 and 21 are received and mated with each othertherein. Therefore, when the socket sections 1,2 are put together, evenwith the separator 3 interposed therebetween, the vertical surfaces lleand 21.2 of both bases 11, 21 are mated with each other, and onecompletely circular base is formed by said bases 11 and 21.

Reference numerals 5 and 6 designate metallic connecting partsrespectively. As shown in FIG. 5, these metallic connecting partsrespectively have upright arms 51 and 61 at one ends thereof whichconstitute pin receiving terminals 52 and 62 for electrical connectionwith the pin terminals 4a of the relay 4. The pin receiving terminals 52and 62 respectively have slits 52a and 62a formed substantiallycentrally thereof and substantially circular openings 52b and 62b formedat the bottom ends of said slits. The open edges of the slits 52a, 62aare rounded to facilitate insertion and removal of the pin terminals 4ainto and from the slits 52a, 62a. The connecting parts 52, 62 alsorespectively have horizontal arms 53 and 63 at the other ends thereof,which are formed with through-holes 54 and 64 for the insertion ofterminal securing bolts 7 respectively. In assembling the socket, thevertical arms 51 and 61 at one ends of the connecting parts 5 anf 6 arefitted into the holes 11b and 21b of the bases 11 and 21, and thehorizontal arms 53 and 63 at the other ends thereof are located on theupper surfaces of the terminal mounts 12b, 22b and 12a, 22arespectively, by hand or other means. After fitting the connecting parts5, 6 tightly into the respective socket sections 1 and 2 in the mannerdescribed, the bolts 7 are screwed into the respective terminal mounts12a, 12b and 22a, 2217 with seat members 8 and washers 9 interposedtherebetween. The seating members 8 may be eliminated in the event whenthe through-holes 54 and 64 are formed with internal threads.Thereafter, the socket sections 1 and 2, each having all of theaccessories thus mounted therein, are arranged with their open sidesfacing each other and put together and tightly combined, with theseparator 3 interposed therebetween. In this case, since the post 31 ofthe separator 3 is lower in height than the bases 11 and 21, and thewindows 32, 32 are formed on both sides of the post 31, as stated above,the post 31 is enclosed in the bases 11 and 21, and said bases 11 and 21are mated with each other at their open sides. Thus, a base of a shapenear a complete circle can be formed. Then, the socket sections 1 and 2thus combined are tightened together by pins (not shown) extendingthrough the body of thus completed socket from one side thereof.

Although the present invention has been described and illustrated hereinwith a reference to a socket for an electrical equipment having pinterminals, it will be obviously understood that the invention isapplicable also to any other sockets, provided that they are used formounting electric equipments having terminals arranged in an annularshape.

What we claim is:

1. A socket for electrically connecting an electrical device such as arelay whose terminals are arranged in an annular fashion to respectiveexternal leads comprising:

first and second sections each formed of an electrical insulatingmaterial and being of generally rectangular cross section,

each said section defining at its upper surface a substantiallysemi-circular base between its end portions and with its diameter lyingsubstantially coplanar with an open side of said section,said basehaving formed therein semi-annularly disposed terminal insertionapertures for receiving said terminals,

each said section further defining a plurality of terminal mountingmeans each connected electricaly with a respective terminal insertionaperture,

and a separator element also formed of an electrical insulatingmaterial,

said socket being assembled with said first and second sections havingtheir respective open sides facing each other and with separator meansinterposed therebetween,

said separator means closing said open sides of both said first andsecond sections.

2. The socket of claim 1 wherein said separator means defines anaperture having a longitudinal slot for receiving a keyed protuberanceon the electrical device.

3. The socket of claim 2 wherein said portion of said separator meansdefining said keyed slot lies below the surface of said base into whichopen said terminal insertion apertures.

1. A socket for electrically connecting an electrical device such as arelay whose terminals are arranged in an annular fashion to respectiveexternal leads comprising: first and second sections each formed of anelectrical insulating material and being of generally rectangular crosssection, each said section defining at its upper surface a substantiallysemi-circular base between its end portions and with its diameter lyingsubstantially coplanar with an open side of said section,said basehaving formed therein semi-annularly disposed terminal insertionapertures for receiving said terminals, each said section furtherdefining a plurality of terminal mounting means each connectedelectricaly with a respective terminal insertion aperture, and aseparator element also formed of an electrical insulating material, saidsocket being assembled with said first and second sections having theirrespective open sides facing each other and with separator meansinterposed therebetween, said separator means closing said open sides ofboth said first and second sections.
 2. The socket of claim 1 whereinsaid separator means defines an aperture having a longitudinal slot forreceiving a keyed protuberance on the electrical device.
 3. The socketof claim 2 wherein said portion of said separator means defining saidkeyed slot lies below the surface of said base into which open saidterminal insertion apertures.